Marina Novelli

Joseph M. Cheer

Claudio Milano

Over the last decade, while many scholars have maintained their interest in the classical debate concerning the impacts of tourism, some have attempted new conceptualisations, while others have converged towards critical narratives promoted by a number of social movements, and have become involved in subsequent discussions on ‘overtourism’ and ‘tourismphobia’. The terms 'overtourism' and 'tourismphobia' have their genesis in the rapid unfolding of unsustainable mass tourism practices and the responses that these have generated amongst academics, practitioners, social movements and grassroots organizations concerned with the detrimental use of urban, rural and coastal spaces, among others, for tourism purposes. The renewed interest in the study of the adverse impacts of tourism, as implied in the term 'overtourism', is related to a variety of well-established causes. Travel and Tourism in the Age of Overtourism builds on existing knowledge and makes a theoretical and practical contribution the overtourism debate and the system dynamics underlining it. This collection suggests ways to address this from a tourism and planning perspective. It offers critical reflections on the contemporary evolution of tourism development and the implication of such processes on people, places and spaces. The chapters in this book were originally published as a Special Issue of the journal Tourism Planning & Development.

Travel and Tourism in the Age of Overtourism

Mary Mostafanezhad

Harng Luh Sin

This book considers what the transition into the Asian Century means for some of the most urgent issues in the world today, such as sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, and environmental change. The book critiques Anglo-Western centrism in tourism theory and calls on tourism scholars to make radical shifts toward more inclusive epistemology and praxis. From the British Century of the 1800s to the American Century of the 1900s to the contemporary Asian Century, tourism geographies are deeply entangled in broader shifts in geopolitical power. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of shifts in tourism geographies and the themes addressed in this volume are more urgent than ever. That the world faces increasing turmoil is abundantly clear. Yet, amidst the disruption to the everyday, it is hope and compassion, but also political-economic restructuring that is needed to reset the tourism industry in more sustainable, equitable, and ethical directions. In no uncertain terms, the pandemic has forever changed the tourism industry as the world once knew it. This book, therefore, sets out to collectively build on the momentum of the inclusive scholarship that Critical Tourism Studies-Asia Pacific is renowned for, while also asking readers to pause and reflect on the possibilities and challenges of tourism in a post-pandemic Asian Century. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Tourism Geographies.

Recentering Tourism Geographies in the ‘Asian Century’

Alan A. Lew

In recent years, resilience theory has come to occupy the core of our understanding and management of the adaptive capacity of people and places in complex social and environmental systems. Despite this, tourism scholars have been slow to adopt resilience concepts, at a time when the emergence of new frameworks and applications is pressing. Drawing on original empirical and theoretical insights in resilience thinking, this book explores how tourism communities and economies respond to environmental changes, both fast (natural hazard disasters) and slow (incremental shifts). It explores how tourism places adapt, change, and sometimes transform (or not) in relation to their environmental context, with an awareness of intersection with societal dynamics and links to political, economic and social drivers of change. Contributions draw on empirical research conducted in a range of international settings, including indigenous communities, to explore the complexity and gradations of environmental change encounters and resilience planning responses in a range of tourism contexts. As the first book to specifically focus on environmental change from a resilience perspective, this timely and original work makes a critical contribution to tourism studies, tourism management and environmental geography, as well as environmental sciences and development studies.

Definitions and Frameworks

Tourism Resilience and Adaptation to Environmental Change

In a world increasingly faced with, and divided by, regional and global crises, resilience has emerged as a key concept with significant relevance for tourism. A paradigmatic shift is taking place in the long-term planning of tourism development, in which the prevailing focus on sustainability is being enhanced with the practical application of resilience planning. This book provides a critical appraisal of sustainability and resilience, and the relationship between the two. Contributions highlight the complexity of addressing social change with resilience planning in a range of tourism contexts, from islands to mountains, from urban to remote environments, and in a range of international settings. Case studies articulate how tourism is both an agent of social change and a victim of larger change processes, and provide important lessons on how to deal with increasingly unstable economic, social and environmental systems. This is the first book to specifically examine social change and sustainability in tourism through a resilience lens. This much-needed contribution to the literature will be a key resource for those working in tourism studies, tourism planning and management, social geography, and development studies, among others.

Joseph M. Cheer

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